Nicknames
by SilverSnowflake9798
Summary: All Sinbad wanted was to give her a nickname. but for Hakuei all it did was cause problums. HakueixSinbad, with a lot of her family involved. I own nothing but this story.
1. nicknames

Nicknames

Sinbad and Hakuei fanfic

"Bunny."

Hakuei looked over the scroll she was reading. "What?"

"Baby?" Hakuei gave Sinbad a confused face.

"Pardon Sinbad?" He scrunched his nose in annoyance.

"Pumpkin?" this time it was Hakuei's turn to make a face.

"Sinbad, what on earth are you doing?" His face was contorted in concentration as he placed it in his palm to relax.

"I'm trying to think of a nickname for you. Does pumpkin work? Or maybe cupcake." Hakuei placed the scroll she had been reading on the table so that she could give Sinbad her full attention. Sounded like he needed it, for her sake more than anything.

"Why do I need a nickname?"

"Because we're going to be getting married soon!" the look on her face said she didn't follow. "Sharkkan told me that when you're with someone you have to give them a nickname."

Ah. Sharkkan told him.

"And tell me, how many girls has Sharkkan been in a relationship with?" Sinbad didn't answer. "Exactly. Besides, not many real couples actually have nicknames. My cousin's never called their husbands by any special names." What she didn't say was that none of her cousins had very good relationships with their lovers. Being in an arranged marriage usually did that.

"Hinahoho used to give Rurumu nicknames all the time! Dearest, honey, sweetheart," Hakuei was not sure how Sinbad was able to remember all those and she wasn't sure that she wanted to know. "And he was in love with her, so why is it a bad idea for me to give you one to?...pudding?"

"first off, no. and second that's them, so why-" he interrupted her to continue to make his point.

"And Drakkon calls his wife darling all the time!"

"I know, but Sin-"

"And Dorji always calls Toya blossom."

"Yes, but-"

"Toto calls Olba her warrior."

"That's not,"

"And Sharkkan calls Yamu gorgeous."

"Sinbad, nicknames are-wait what?"

"I'm not sure if he's ever said it to her face, but I've heard him call her it when she's not there." Right. So that was going to be the first thing she would tell Yamu when she saw her next.

"Sinbad there is nothing wrong with nicknames, but it's not a rule. You don't need to give me a nickname if you don't want to." She tried picking up the scroll again, assuming that the conversation was over and done with. Besides, she really wanted to be able to finish reading this tale from the Dark Continent history.

"But I want to give you a nickname. I'm sure I could find one that works for you, right snookee?" Hakuei stared at him.

"Snookee?"

"Sure! What's wrong with it?" Hakuei could make a list of what was wrong with that name. A long list. "It's just a harmless nickname Hakuei, and I promise it will only be one." She wanted to argue, but she knew how stubborn Sinbad could be when he tried to be. Besides, she really wanted to keep reading.

With a sigh she gave in. "Fine. One nickname, and I have to approve of it." At her words Sinbad's face beamed so much she worried she had made a mistake.

"Yes! Don't worry, I'll pick the perfect name for you, I promise." He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and Hakuei started blushing bright red. "You're adorable when you blush by the way."

"S-Sinbad, we aren't married yet! You know my culture doesn't allow for such close contact before-you know, the treaty!" What she meant to say was wedding, but the thought would just make her blush more. She didn't want to mention the fact that when they were so close it always made her head spin and her heart start beating too fast. He seemed to know that pretty well, and it amused him.

"In my opinion your culture needs to ease up a bit," he said hugging her around her shoulders and kissing the top of her head. Doing all she could she tried to stop herself from blushing even more and keep a straight face. It didn't work as Sinbad smirked at her trying to hide her smile. "Besides, how can I resist getting close to one as beautiful as you?" teasing he started playing with the ends of her hair as Hakuei tried to remind herself to keep her cool. _Don't blush don't blush don't blush, you're a general, act professional, stay calm. _

"King Sinbad, please stop teasing princess Hakuei." To her relief she was saved by Jafar coming in the library. Sinbad rolled his eyes at his best friend, refusing to untangle his hands from hers. Jafar raised an eyebrow and turned to Hakuei with a smile on his face. "Lady Hakuei, is this man bothering you?" Hakuei laughed when Sinbad frowned at his adviser.

"Yes he is. Please make him leave."

"Hey!" Sinbad protested while Jafar's smile grew bigger. Half grumbling Sinbad finally let Hakuei go. "Alright, alright, I can see when I'm not wanted."

"Really? Since when?" this time Jafar couldn't help but to laugh. Sinbad glared at his advisor who tried to smother his giggles and get back to the matter at hand.

"A-anyway, I came to say that emperor Kouen would like a word with you. He wants to make sure the treaty has been established before we decide it's time to head back to Sindria." Sinbad nodded, all joking aside. "He's waiting for you in the meeting room along with prince Koumei. Pisti and Drakkon are waiting for you there."

"Good. I'll head over now." On his way out he turned back to Hakuei quickly. "Then I'll see you at dinner in a few. Bye sweetie pie!" Even he seemed to find that one a problem as he scrunched up his nose. He hurried out without another word, not noticing the face Jafar was giving him.

After he had left he turned to Hakuei, his face contorted in confusion. "S…sweetie pie?" Hakuei laughed. "Is he sick? Or hungry?"

"He's not sick, and before you ask he hasn't lost his mind either. He seems to be convinced that he needs to have some kind of nickname for me, courtesy of Sharkkan." It didn't take to long for him to understand after she had mentioned Sharkkan. With no desire to go back to the meeting after having been in one all day he took the seat across from Hakuei and sat down.

"I see. What did you tell him about this?" She simply shrugged.

"It's fine by me. It's just a harmless nickname, what's the worst that could happen?" As soon as she said it she cursed herself. When dealing with people from Sindria she had learned to never assume such things.

**Hi everyone. here's another story I randomly thought of. mostly humor, again has a lot of her family in the story. If anyone has any comments or ideas for me to write, either put it in the review section or message me. I'm always looking for a new idea or some kind of challenge to write. **


	2. Koumei, respect

"It's strange that you're going to be leaving dear cousin," Koumei was saying as the two of them were walking through the garden. "You have been gone before of course, but this will be different. You won't be a citizen of the Kou Empire anymore. What are we going to do if we can't call you when we need your help?" she smiled at him, as well as giving him a little push to keep him awake.

"I'm sure you'll figure something out. It almost sounds like you're going to miss me Koumei." Her cousin shook his head in defiance but couldn't keep the smile off his face.

But soon he gave a long sigh. "I certainly hope you enjoy your life at Sindria Hakuei. I especially hope Sinbad treats you well. Considering how my other sisters have been treated by their husbands I sincerely hope Sinbad isn't like that. Do you think he'll even let me visit you?"

"Of course Koumei! Why wouldn't he?" Koumei made a face at her and she cringed. Even though she said that she wasn't so sure. She knew that Sinbad liked Hakuryuu because the two of them were allies, but even with the new treaty Sinbad still did not trust Koumei or Kouen too much. Once he had said, 'I don't think I'll ever trust those two. They are deceitful, cunning, and untrustworthy Hakuei!' When she told him that he wasn't that different he had no comeback. She knew her cousins weren't the most trusted people in the world, but when you have known them for a long time they start to grow on you.

"I'm sure that he'll let you come for a visit." When he didn't look convinced, she tried again. "If we have to I can come and visit you."

"That is assuming he lets you," Koumei muttered under his breath. "You know how some leaders-especially kings- don't give their wives much freedom. I hardly ever see my other sisters because their husbands don't allow me to." Hakuei didn't point out that he always said he was too tired to go and visit any of them anyone. "Remember our sister Kourina's husband?" Hakuei made a face. She remembered him specifically as 'the creepy one.' "He was so obsessed with her that he didn't let her go anywhere without his permission. It was creepy how he treated her. I have nothing wrong with people in love, but all common sense seemed to go out the window with him. Of course he never was a very smart one, but still."

"You can't possibly think that Sinbad will act like that, do you?" Koumei shook his head. He had been in to many debates and meetings to know Sinbad was too smart for that.

"No, but I still worry. I hope he treats you with more respect than Kourina's husband did." Hakuei was touched by the thought, and stopped so that she could look her cousin in the eye.

"Koumei, I'm touched that you are worried about me, but trust me, I'll be fine. He treats me more respectfully than some of the generals in our country." Unfortunately, there were a few other generals in their country that didn't think a women, much less a princess, would be capable of understanding the things that she did. The only way that she was able to remain a general was because of her cousins sticking up for her, saying that if she was so incapable, why did she have a djinn and they didn't. Koumei nodded, but still didn't look convinced. Before she could try and convince him she was interrupted.

"Hey!" they both turned to see Sinbad coming over to them with Masrur and Jafar a few feet away. Koumei gave him a silent nod as a hello but Hakuei gave him a bright smile and a wave.

"Hello Sin-" she glanced at Koumei. "I mean, king Sinbad. How can we help you?" Hakuei kept forgetting that she wasn't supposed to be so comfortable around him before they were married. Koumei would defiantly not approve if he found out.

"I just wanted to tell you that Kouha was looking for you. He said something about… a broken vase?" Hakuei groaned internally. Kouha, even though he was a general and a dungeon capturer, he still love to act like a child and break everything in sight.

"Alright. Thank you very much King Sinbad." He grinned and headed back to his advisers, and Hakuei sighed with relief he had done nothing encourage Koumei's worries. Her hopes were dashed when he turned and waved back to her with a smile.

"See you at lunch baby cakes." Hakuei felt the blood drain from her face. _How could he possibly even consider that as a good nickname?_ Sinbad just thought about the name for a moment, then walked away shaking his head. _Of all the awful times, why now?_ Hakuei thought to herself. Nervously she glanced over at Koumei, who had an expression of shock on his face. It only took a moment for him to gain his cool, and once he did he turned to Hakuei.

"Is that the kind of name he thinks is respectful?" Hakuei covered her face with her hands to hide the growing blush. Well that just ruined everything.


	3. Kougyoku, romance

"I want to know everything about the wedding! Tell me everything, give me details!" Kougyoku squealed in delight.

Uh oh.

Hakuei had been packing up some of her favourite cloths when Kougyoku jumped in. At first she had been helping, but as the conversation began to veer Kougyoku took charge and picked the topic. "Where is the wedding going to be? What is the colour scheme, purple or pink? Or maybe blue and gold for your eyes, oh that would be so pretty! Is it going to be outdoors or indoors? As the first maid of honour I need to know these things!" Hakuei felt completely overwhelmed by all of her questions. She didn't even know that weddings needed a colour scheme.

Her cousin continued to persist on details so Hakuei tried to give her what information she could. "I don't think we're going to be getting married for a while Kougyoku. Right now all we are concerned about is making the treaty and getting to Sindria. As for planning the wedding, I really don't know. I think Sinbad wanted to do a lot of the planning."

Kougyoku frowned at this piece of information. "Why would he be planning it? Judal told me that guys find those things useless." Maybe Kougyoku should stop taking advice from their oracle.

"I think he enjoys it. He says it's just like a big party, and he likes parties." Again it seemed that Hakuei had said something wrong, because Kougyoku slammed her fist on her table.

"No no no! A wedding is supposed to be sweet and romantic, not a big party to just goof off! It's an important step, with great traditions and slow music and just for the two of you, not everyone else!"

"Well, a party can be romantic to. Lots of cultures have parties after their weddings." Except for theirs, since most marriages where for the treaty and the treaty alone. They didn't want to celebrate the marriage because they didn't care too much for it. Kougyoku put her hands on her hips and tried to tower over her cousin.

"But it's not romantic! What about when you were little? Didn't you ever have dreams about getting married? What happened in them?" Hakuei gave a silent shrug before placing another folded dress in her box. She wasn't able to bring too much, so she had to pick her items carefully. Most of her luggage space was filled with scrolls and mementos of family, but she needed a few cloths at least.

"I didn't have any. I always pictured my wedding as simply signing a certificate and being on my way." Hakuei had always been a realist. She had never thought gone on dreaming along with the other girls about what their future husbands would be like, trying to compete over who would be better. Since she knew the true nature of marriages in royalty, she knew it was unlikely she would even like the man she married, let alone love him. So she always told herself not to bother with those kinds of thoughts. All it would do was give her false hope and she had better things to do anyway. As she looked up to her cousin she was shocked to find her eyes filled with tears. "K-kougyoku! What's wrong?"

"P-poor sister," Kougyoku muttered as she covered her mouth in shock. Hakuei fumbled to her feet, trying to do something to help.

"What's wrong? Do you need anything?" she sniffled so Hakuei tried to push her into a sitting position on the edge of the bed and sat next to her. "Sister, please tell me what's wrong! I'll try and help, I promise." She mumbled something low under her breathe. "Kougyoku, I'm sorry but you're going to have to speak louder than that." That was the wrong thing to say.

"Poor sister! You've never dreamed about your future wedding? That's so sad! That's a part of every girls childhood, what every girl dreams about, you poor thing!" she grabbed her sisters hands and looked at her through tear soaked eyes. "Don't worry sister! I promise to make your wedding absolutely perfect to make up for those lost dreams! It will be the wedding of weddings!"

…..Hakuei was at a loss for words.

"Besides, it would probably be bad if Sinbad planned the party," Kougyoku added, now completely calm. She stood up again and walked around the room, observing what it looked like with all of Hakuei's precious items gone. It wasn't as empty as she thought it would be. Most of her items belonged to the Kou Empire, not her.

"Why? What would the problem be?" Kougyoku glanced at her, unsure if she should say anything. But her cousin was tough, she could take it.

"Er…I'm just worried about what would happen at the party. You know he has a reputation with…some people." Hakuei didn't clue in very quickly. "Like, a few people." She tilted her head in confusion and Kougyoku sighed. She was a military, economic and historical genius, but when it came to social or romantic matters she was always at a slump. "Girls! Women! Females!" that just made Hakuei more confused.

"Of course he does. Many of his friends are girls. Two of his generals are girls, you are his friend, I think Morgianna knows him to," As she trailed off Kougyoku waved her hands in the air in anger.

"I mean other kinds of girls! Don't you know about king Sinbad's reputation with girls? He flirts with them all the time, and the girls at his kingdom love it." caterpillars began to appear in Hakuei's stomach as she saw where the conversation was going. Yes, she knew about it. But one, she knew that Sinbad would never cheat on her, or anyone if he was in a relationship with them. Two, she really, really, REALLY didn't want to talk about those kinds of things. Ever.

"I-if you're worried that he would cheat on me, I don't think he would. He doesn't want to be, um, disrespectful at all." She tried to think of a way to word her meaning as impersonally as she could, but was interrupted again by Kougyoku waving one hand to dismiss her words.

"Of course I know THAT Hakuei. He's not stupid, he knows that if he ever hurt you he'd have the whole Kou Empire on his back." Well Hakuei wasn't going to use that reasoning, even if it was true. "I meant about what he does with them! And in turn, what he's going to do with you!" Those caterpillars began to form into butterflies the more uncomfortable Hakuei became.

"I…well…er…what was it you wanted to know about the decorations again?" As if she had just made her point, Kougyoku jumped up and pointed at her.

"See? You can't even suggest these kinds of things without blushing!" knowing Kougyoku, how was she able to talk about it without turning red? "Do you even know how to be romantic Hakuei? Holding hands, long walks down the beach, kissing in the," No, no, no, Hakuei did NOT want to talk about kissing. Not to mention she hated long walks on the beach. It was too sunny.

"I think we were having chocolate cake," Hakuei scrambled to distract her. "T-that's your favourite, right?" Kougyoku shook her head angrily at her.

"Have you even talked to him about this? King Sinbad is usually such a romantic, so I bet he has a lot more experience with romance than you do. I mean, he has to know how easily embarrassed you are, so the thought must have occurred to him,"

"H-how are you talking about this so easily? Usually you get embarrassed quicker than I do!" she remembered the time that Sinbad had come to visit her country once, and just seeing him made her turn red.

Kougyoku shrugged. "I think it's easier to talk about when it's not me. Besides, Judal has been trying to teach me not to blush so much." It was official. Kougyoku was spending WAY too much time with their oracle.

"Kougyoku, I'm glad you're worried about me, but you don't have to. You know that I can take care of myself, and…um..."

"If he hurts you you'll kill him?" Yes, she really needed to restrict her time with Judal.

"Uh…well maybe not to that extreme but…"

"I heard my name!" they both spun around to see who was at the doorway. Hakuei started panicking, afraid that Sinbad had heard their discussion. Luckily it was Judal floating in the doorway. Kougyoku smiled and waved him in, and he flew over to the two of them as Hakuei breathed a sigh of relief.

"Sounds like you two are having an interesting conversation," he commented with an evil twinkle in his eye.

Not so great.

"We were just talking about how Sinbad will treat Hakuei compared to other women." Did she have to word it like that? Judal didn't seem to worry too much about it.

"Oh. You worried he's gonna kiss you a lot? Cause, I hate to break it to you Hakuei, he probably will." This time both of them started to blush.

"N-no! Judal-kun that was not what we were talking about!" but as the blush started to fade away she thought about it. "Well…it sort of is…"

"No, NO it's not, let's change the subject please,"

"Have the two of you ever talked about it? I mean, just how close the two of you will be?" Judal should have stopped talking. At least Hakuei wished he would.

"Look you two, I really don't think it's any of your,"

"She hasn't even talked to him about it." Kougyoku answered for her. She glared at her but it was too late. Judal was intrigued.

"Yeah right. There's no way this hasn't crossed Sinbad's mind. Let me guess," he turned to Hakuei and began studying her, and she squirmed under his gaze. She knew it was useless to try and hide anything from him. Not only was he a magi, but he had an annoying ability to be anywhere he wanted and find out everything that everyone else wished he didn't know.

"The two of you tried to talk about it,"

"…"

"No, he tried to talk about it,"

"…"

"You avoided the subject,"

"…"

"…You ran away from him didn't you?"

"…Shut up."

"Hakuei!" Kougyoku scowled at her while Judal held his stomach. Hakuei's blush grew the more that Judal laughed and the more Kougyoku scowled. "You have to talk to him about it SOMETIME. You can't just avoid it forever!"

"I can try…" Was this really happening? Her talking about just how unexperienced she was with relationships compared to Sinbad? It wasn't her fault, her country didn't allow her to be in a relationship with anyone other than her husband. But even though she never, ever, EVER wanted to talk about it, she had to admit the thought had occurred to her a few times. Sinbad had dated many girls. He flirted with them like it was second nature, and sometimes people considered that it was. Hakuei on the other hand, had no real experience being in a real relationship. Unlike her cousins, she had never fantasised about her future husband, so she didn't even know what to do about him. Sinbad probably knew everything, while she would be such a newbie. The thought made her heart fall a little.

"It's an important discussion Hakuei! What about after the wedding, huh? What about the honey-"

"AHHH you know what, I'm done talking about this. I really need to get my bags packed soon, we don't know when we are leaving so,"

"Hey I just got here! You can't back out of the conversation now!" Hakuei glared at Judal so hard it forced Kougyoku into silence. Wasn't part of her plan, but good enough. Unfortunately, it didn't work so well on Judal. "Come on, how do you expect to be with Sinbad and be that afraid of the topic?"

"It'll work out somehow," She tried to convince herself, even though she knew she wouldn't be able to avoid it. Sinbad would make her talk about it eventually. But what she really, really didn't want to do was talk about it with her little cousin and mischievous oracle.

Judal tried to intervene, but instead he was interrupted. "Hakuei, there you are!" they all looked to see the man of the hour standing in the doorway. Hakuei felt the blood drain from her face. _Of all the worst times to come in, why now?_

"Oh, hey Sinbad," Hakuei smiled at him as he walked in. Kougyoku and Judal didn't care too much if she was informal with him. "We were just…um…talking."

"About what?" Snap. He shouldn't have said that.

"We were just talking about Hakuei avoiding having the talk about how intimate the two of you were." Yup, Hakuei wanted to die. Kougyoku, finally returning to her normal demeanour, began blushing and tried to look away. Sinbad's eyes just widened at him. Judal frowned and turned to Hakuei. "That was it, wasn't it? Or were we talking about-"

"JUDAL!" with warrior instincts she grabbed the spare pillow off her bed and threw it at him with lighting speed, forcing him into silence. But it was enough for Sinbad to understand. Annoyed, Sinbad turned to Hakuei with a scowl on his face.

"Really? When I try to talk to you about it you faint, but when you talk to your cousin and Judal your fine? How is that fair?"

"You FAINTED?" That was enough to make Judal fall over laughing. Kougyoku covered her mouth to stop herself when she saw Hakuei's glare. "Oh my gosh, you fainted? Our general, first princess and dungeon capturer FAINTED!" he laughed and laughed, so much that it hurt his stomach. "Stop, stop, I can't! This is just too good!"

"Thanks for the helpful commentary Judal," Hakuei mumbled as Judal tried to catch his breathe. Even Sinbad was smirking to the side. "Don't you laugh too!" she threatened him.

"I'm trying not to. It's hard." Kougyoku couldn't help but to laugh at Sinbad's comment and Judal somehow laughed even harder. Hakuei didn't think her face had been that red before in her entire life. It HAD to be a dream. At least, she hoped it was. "Oh come on, you have to admit you look adorable when you pout like that." Right away she sucked her lower lip in. she was a general. She did NOT look adorable.

"Don't call me that Sinbad. You know it makes me uncomfortable." even as she said the words she quickly regretted them. When Hakuei was uncomfortable, Sinbad would use that as an excuse to tease her further. She was right as his grin turned darker. Like a snake he sat next to her and slipped his arm around her waist, pulling her into him. Great, now she was blushing even more.

"If that makes you uncomfortable how uncomfortable does this make you?" Much less than she wanted to admit. Her heart started racing more while Judal laughed and Kougyoku's face began to match her blush. At least she wasn't the only one suffering.

"W-w-what was it that you wanted again Sinbad," she asked, trying to distract him. Him, but mostly herself. It didn't work so well for him as he pulled her even closer so he could rest his forehead on the top of her head, forcing her to look into his bright gold eyes. _Distraction, where are you, _she mumbled in her head. _I need you to distract my heart. Right now. Don't look in his eyes, they are a death trap! _

"What, do I have to have a reason to want to see you?" She resisted the urge to gulp and rolled her eyes instead.

"When you're so busy lately, yes you do." He frowned but gave in quickly.

"You can be mean when you try. Fine, I wanted to give you a heads up that we are going to be leaving within the week." Hakuei spun around and stared at him. "Yes, I know it's early, but the treaty is almost made and I can't be away from my kingdom too long. Not with al thamen on the loose."

Though it still upset her, she understood his reasoning. After her brother and Judal had cut ties with Al thamen, (**This didn't actually happen in series. Not yet anyway, I hope it does**) Al Thamen had to go and find new people to work with them. No one knew where they were or what they were doing. The confusion caused many of the leaders to hurry back to their kingdoms in order to keep their people safe. If the treaty between Sindria and the Kou Empire wasn't so desperately needed, Sinbad and a few of his generals wouldn't have come to their empire. Hakuei might not have even met Sinbad a year ago. But even with the generals he left behind, the time he had spent away from his kingdom was more than enough, and he had to get back soon. Hakuei knew this, yet the thought still frightened her. Though she had met all of the generals, even the ones who hadn't come, she had never been to the Sindria Empire before. Part of her wasn't sure she was ready to leave it all behind.

When she hesitated to answer, Sinbad caught on quickly. Turning to Judal and Kougyoku he said, "So what about the two of you? Making any plans on your betrothal yet?" Even Judal became bright red.

"What the heck are you talking about, stupid king?"

"Y-yes, that is a ridiculous notion!"

"Yeah, who'd want to marry this old hag?" Kougyoku turned and glared at him.

"Oi, don't call me that! I'm younger than you!" With the new distraction the two of them began to argue over who was older and whether it mattered. Once he was sure they were distracted Sinbad moved closer to Hakuei and whispered in her ear, his breath tickling her neck.

"If you're not ready to leave, you don't have to. Aladdin isn't coming to Sindria for another month or two. You can wait and go with him if you prefer." The option eased her stomach, but she stubbornly shook her head.

"No, I don't think time is what I need. If I'm given the option not to go, I'll hold it off as soon as possible. It's better just to face it if I want to calm down." But even as she said that her hands had still started shaking slightly at her sides. Gently Sinbad traded his grip on her waist for her hand and squeezed it lightly. Her heart fluttered a bit, but all she showed him was a smile of gratitude.

"Alright. Don't worry about my country, they don't bite." he whispered again and she giggled. Playfully he tipped his head up and kissed the tip of her ear. "Well, they won't at least. I make no promises." _Why couldn't I have been born unable to blush, _Hakuei wondered as her face turned red again. _This just isn't fair!_

"T-that tickles," Hakuei stuttered, embarrassed that she had fallen as low as to stuttering like a school girl. In her head she reminded herself, _you're a general, general! Be proffesio- _Than Sinbad laughed and spoke his newest nickname for her.

"I'm sure I can find many more ways to 'tickle' you sexy thing."

_Whelp, there goes professionalism. My Dignities following close behind. _

At her glare Sinbad smile sheepishly. "I'll take that face as a no?" She nodded and he sighed. "Darn. I thought that was good." Hakuei stubbornly shook her head at him. There was nothing he could possibly say to make her agree to that nickname.

That was when she noticed that the room was silent.

She turned and saw Judal and Kougyouku, staring at them with their mouths dropped open. She didn't bother to ask. They had heard what he said.

Judal broke the silence. By laughing. "Holy crap Hakuei, look at your face! You're as red as a tomato!" _where was a throwing knife when you needed one_, Hakuei wondered as Judal laughed. Still laughed he spoke to Hakuei, "See? I told you you wouldn't be able to handle his speed." Hakuei glared at her oracle, but felt fear when she saw Kougyoku debating his words. Sinbad, who didn't pay attention to the last line, laughed a little as well, standing up as he did.

"She blushes a lot? You should have seen your face when I mentioned you and Kougyoku." Immediately Judal shut up, to Hakuei's relief.

"Oi, I don't blush!"

"Have you LOOKED in a mirror Judal?" this time it was Sinbad and Judal who were distracted, arguing over whether Judal blushes and over what. While they were preoccupied Kougyoku moved over to Hakuei's side again and whispered in her ear, revealing just how bad of a nickname Sinbad's had been.

"Um…He might be right sister." Hakuei just gave up. There was nothing she would be able to say to convince her otherwise. Sinbad and Judal continued to argue over little things while the two of them sat there. Trying to be helpful Kougyoku patted her on the head. "Don't worry Ni-saan. I don't understand men well either."

At least that was something she could agree on.

**wow, this was a long chapter. I really hope Judal and Hakuryuu decide to leave Al thamen, I want them to be on the good side! oh, and I don't own magi or any of it's characters. **


	4. Kouen, serious

"Emperor Kouen, I don't think you're going to get anywhere near the land of Irianinia if you try to attack them from that angle," Hakuei lectured him as he read over another scroll. He glanced up at the map she was referring to with his normal calm expression.

"Why not? The mountains provide good cover." Hakuei shook her head and pointed to the mountains.

"The culture there is a mountain culture. They have people there all the time. Do you really think you could catch all of them before you got there?" her cousin gave no response, so she pulled off the flag he had marked and put it on the other side. "If I were you I would go from the east side. It's a forest land which provides some cover, but also no one goes there because they put all of their wild animals and dangerous creatures in that forest. While it may scare them I'm sure it will be no problem for you and your metal vessel." Kouen listened in silent admiration. When she had finished he nodded at Hakuei's plan.

"That sounds reasonable. Remind me later to tell the generals of the change of plans," Kouen asked as he folded up the scroll he was reading. "How is it cousin that you are able to know so much about all these cultures at once? They don't teach princesses things like these, yet I'm the first prince and I don't know half of the information you know." A slight blush appeared on her cheeks at the complement, but she shook it away quickly.

"Well my elder brother used to teach me about it, and the Kouga nation told me a few things. Besides, you haven't had half the time I've had to learn about these things. I've been learning them since I was little, but you were only taught a few years ago."

Kouen nodded, his mind drifting off to her previous brothers. "Yes. Hakuyuu was a very good leader. I wonder what he would say, if he saw all that has happened in his absence." Hakuei had a good feeling she could guess. They would be happy that their mother was out of their country, they hadn't liked her even when Hakuei didn't understand why. Hakuren would have been angry at Hakuryuu for when he tried to rebel, and hit him on the head. Maybe even fought him like they had when they were younger. Both of them would have been pleased with the treaty, since many times the two of them claimed that having a treaty instead of taking over a country would be a good idea. As for how the treaty was made…

"I'm not sure that Hakuyuu would have been very happy about the marriage," Kouen commented, and Hakuei couldn't help but to nod.

"That's possible. He always said he wished that I didn't have to get married because of a treaty." Hakuyuu was very defensive of his younger sister. He used to get angry when people would consider marrying her off in order to take over a nation or secure a treaty. That was one of the main reasons that she had not already been married at a younger age like many of her cousins had. He would always vouched for her and say she wasn't ready, until she had been strong enough to become a general and stand up for herself. But he might have gone softer on this wedding, considering that she had known him for a long time, and they really did care about each other. Sinbad probably wouldn't have agreed to the arrangement if he didn't considering his aversion to getting married.

"Actually I was talking about you marrying Sinbad." Well that was just the opposite of what Hakuei was thinking.

At her face he decided to give an explanation. "Not about the fact that you care about him. Knowing your brother he would be happy that you ever felt romantic feelings towards anyone." Her blush was returning at a dangerous rate. She didn't think she had ever blushed as much as she had in that week. "I was suggesting that he may not have preferred how Sinbad…acts sometimes." Hakuei felt like she was going to have this same type of conversation with all of her relatives before the week was over.

"About what? How he respects me or how he acts around other women, or how I have such little experience in relationships?" she waited for him to pick one, but all he did was stare at her.

"…no…Actually I was going to talk about how he isn't serious enough." _Great, another problem. _

"O-oh…sorry."

"Are…are those bothering you?"

"N-no, it's just something that,"

"Cause if it does, I can try and slow down the treaty. Till you are ready-"

"I-it's really fine. Those are just some, um, things that…" She didn't want to say that the rest of her family had been worried about those things. If he knew, he could really stop the marriage, cause if his family was worried, that would make him worried. "They are…common things that people worry about. Or, so I've heard." Her cousin narrowed his eyes at her, trying to decide whether to believe her or not. Perhaps he decided that it wasn't worth it to try and bug her about it. That was one of the reasons she enjoyed talking to her cousin Kouen the most. He was very calm, and only spoke about things when she was ready.

"Alright than. But no, I was worried how he never seems to take anything seriously. It seems like something that your brother would have worried about. Sometimes it worries me."

"Not serious enough? What makes you say that?" He shrugged, folding up his papers and placing them in the corner of his desk.

"It's not that he can't be serious. He'd have to be if he wanted to rule a country. The only problem is that he doesn't seem to be serious enough, and that can cause problems. Not just for his country, but for you. I know how you always seem too much on yourself, so I just worry that if he's not serious enough you'll end up having to do too much work." Was that all? Hakuei almost wanted to laugh with relief. That, of all the problems her siblings seemed to have, seemed like the easiest and the most relaxed.

"Don't worry about that Kouen. Sinbad can be plenty serious. You should know that better than me, you're the one who's had to deal with him in all of your meetings." He tipped his head to the side, unable to disagree. "And don't even worry about me having too much work to do. There will be eight generals to help me with that." He nodded, agreeing with her.

"That's true. Sometimes though it puzzles me why you fell for such an easy going fellow anyway. The two of you are very different." Hakuei had no choice but to agree to that. Hakuei always got her work done on time when he would procrastinate. Sinbad loved big parties while she enjoyed being around friends. One of them drank alcohol, the other liked goats milk. Hakuei was very professional, while Sinbad was easy going. She was quiet, he was loud. All these things on the outside that were easy for others to see made them seem like completely different people. Maybe they were. But at the same time there were many opinions and ideas they agreed on, especially when it came to important matters. They both supported equality for all races. Both of them were kind to the people they cared about. The two of them were both very smart and, in their own way, mature. It was hard to get when you first saw them, but the two of them understood. That was what mattered wasn't it?

The only answer Hakuei gave him was, "opposites attract?" Kouen shook his head, continuing to be puzzled.

There was a knock on the door, and Hakuei froze. In her head she prayed that it was not Sinbad, about to give a very bad nickname and ruin everything again. But when both of them turned they saw Alibaba waiting there. He waved to them shyly and Kouen waved him in. "Hello prince Alibaba," Hakuei greeted him after she had breathed a sigh of relief. "What do you need?" he gave Hakuei and Kouen a slight bow before straightening.

"Afternoon ma'am. I just wanted to talk to Kouen about something if you don't mind." Hakuei and Kouen both nodded.

"That sounds fine. Kouen, I'll see you later than?" He gave her a nod and she turned to leave. But before she did Alibaba remembered something.

"Oh wait, Sinbad gave me a letter to read." he patted his pockets to make sure he hadn't dropped it. "I think it was for both of you. Mostly Kouen about the treaty, but he said there was something he wanted lady Hakuei to hear to." the two of them looked at each other and Kouen shrugged.

"Alright. Please read what it says." Alibaba nodded as he pulled the paper out of his pockets. It sometimes worried Hakuei that Alibaba did the duties of a regular servant, when I fact he was the prince of his country. When she had spoken to him though, he said he preferred it that way. 'If I were to act like a prince all the time, it might get to my head. I want to be a leader who thinks of everyone as equals, and if doing minor jobs is what I have to do to remember that, than I don't mind. Thank you for worrying about my lady Hakuei, but this is what I want to do.' If it was his choice, she could respect that. She just hoped that he acting like this wouldn't make him think of himself as any lower than the rest.

Clearing his throat he began to read.

_To Emperor Kouen,_

_I regret to inform you that our party will be leaving within the week. We have already been away from our country for two long, and we must be heading back. If it would be possible I have cleared my schedule for tomorrow so that we can finish the rest of the treaty then. Report back to me if this is a reasonable request. That will be all. _

_As for baby doll, I won't be able to speak with her tomorrow, so if she has any need to speak to me, tell her to find me today or send me a letter through Jafar. Also, tell her to talk to Yamu, she seems very worried about something. (_She giggled a little bit, remembering that she had told her about Sharkkon's secret nickname for her) _Make sure that Baby doll sees this letter. _

_King of the Seven Seas, Sinbad_

Alibaba frowned and looked up from the scroll. "Um…Baby doll? Did I read that right?" Hakuei didn't answer. She felt like she couldn't even move. Even when he wasn't there he managed to give her the worst name possible at the worst time possible. How did he even do that? Alibaba squinted at the word. "Who's that?"

"N-nobody!" Hakuei insisted as she snatched the letter out of his hands. "Probably just, um, him referring to some kind of…doll?" both of them stared at her and her face turned red. "Or something like that."

"I think he was referring to Miss Hakuei," Kouen stated, just as composed as ever. "Sinbad seems to love to tease you doesn't he?"

Hakuei didn't have a response. There was nothing she could say now that would change her cousin's mind.


	5. Hakuryuu, awkward

"N-n-nee-san." Hakuryuu stuttered nervously. "You…you didn't cook this, did you?" Seisyun froze right before he took a bite of his soup, eyes popped open. Hakuei scowled at both of them.

"Would you two relax? Its chicken soup, even I cannot mess up chicken soup." Neither of them answered, slowly putting their spoons down and reaching for the rice balls instead. Hakuei huffed angrily. "I made those too." Again they both froze. And quietly pulled their arms back to their sides without taking anything. "You two are such children! It's not poisoned you know!" Yet she hadn't eaten any.

"Are you sure," Seisyun mumbled as he dipped his knife in the soup. It growled back at him. Both he and Hakuryuu shuddered.

"Its chicken soup! The kitchen staff helped me cook it! All I did was put chicken in it and cut up some of the vegetables. It's fine to eat, I promise!" the two boys looked at each other, remembering the last time she had said, 'it's fine to eat, I promise.' The two of them had woken up three days later in the infirmary.

Seisyun backed out. "I, uh, I'm not hungry. I actually have to…I have to go pack! Yes, I need to make sure I have everything to go to Sindria. Don't wait up," he called to them as he sprang up and hurried away from the two of them. Hakuei glared at his fleeting back, knowing full well that he already had everything packed. It made Seisyun both happy and sad that he was going with Hakuei to Sindria. Happy because he got to stay with his best friend. Sad because…he would still be faced with the horrors known as her cooking.

In a desperate attempt to distract his sister from the meal Hakuryuu began, "S-so you're leaving to Sindria soon then? The treaty has already been made?" She knew what he was doing of course, but decided to let it go.

"I think they are still working out the details. Making sure they stay out each other's way and they both remain their own country. I think Sinbad was going to try and get rid of the slavery laws in Kou Empire if he could." That truly distracted Hakuryuu from his meal.

"Really? Do you think that would work?" Hakuei shrugged, poking at the rice ball that moved like jelly.

"It might. Kouen is the emperor now, and he never was in favour of slavery. If Sinbad offers him a good enough deal, it might happen." Hakuryuu smiled at the thought.

"That certainly would be nice. Maybe Kouen could make it a law as a wedding present for you two." Hakuei blushed at wedding while her brother laughed merrily. "It wouldn't be a bad idea. Kouen never knew how what to do for gifts anyway." That was true. For birthdays he asked Koumei to find the gifts and he would pay for them. All merriment left Hakuryuu for a moment as he continued.

"Wow…your wedding. I can't believe that my older sister is getting married." Hakuei smiled at her brother and playfully pushed him backwards.

"Don't worry. I'll still be around to check up on you once in a while. Or maybe you can come visit us." At that suggestion Hakuryuu cringed lightly and shook his head.

"N-no, I don't think that would be such a good idea." His sister frowned at him.

"Why not? Don't you like Sindria?" As far as Hakuei knew he had loved it there. He had made many friends, and now that he had finally made amends with Olba and his siblings it was even better. So far Hakuryuu was the only one in her family who had actually been to Sindria other than Kougyoku and herself, and she had only been there for a month or two. But still he shook his head.

"It's not that. I love Sindria and all of the people there. It's just…" he trailed off and Hakuei had to push him to continue.

"Just what Hakuryuu?" he glanced back at his sister. Than let out a sigh.

"It's you and Sinbad." Hakuei looked a little panicked, and he hurried to reassure her. "No, it's not that I dislike either of you, or the fact that you two are together. I'm happy you two are together. He's always so excited to see you and I know he makes you happy. I mean, it's a little strange. You're my sister, and I'm supposed to look after you. But now that's his job, and I know he will take care of you. That's not the problem sister, don't worry." She felt a little relieved, but not completely.

"Than what is the problem Hakuryuu?" This was her little brother. Even if she wouldn't be able to see him as much, she still cared about him and wanted him to be alright with the situation.

He struggled, trying to figure out how to put it. "I just find it…awkward."

Hakuei frowned at the word. "Awkward?" He nodded, satisfied with the word he had found.

"I just don't know what to do. When the two of you are together and looking at each other like you do, I find it weird to see my sister with someone like that. It used to be that if any man went near you I was supposed to stop them, and I'm okay that I don't have to any more, but it's all just…"

"Awkward," Hakuei finished for him, and he nodded. The reasoning he gave her was easy for her to understand. It was strange to see a sibling in a romantic relationship with someone. When Hakuryuu spoke of Morgianna sometimes she felt very awkward. At least, he used to, she didn't know if he still felt the same way about her or not. It was a very confusing situation as far as she knew.

Reaching out she put her hand on his shoulder. "Hakuryuu, I get it's strange. But don't worry, I promise to try and not make you feel uncomfortable. Besides, you know me. I would probably blush more than you!" Hakuyruu nodded, allowing this information to sink in. It didn't fix the situation at all but it did help.

"Yes, I guess that is true. You would become as red as the sun." Hakuei laughed and pushed him again. "I'm surprised you fell for someone like Sinbad anyway. He's so much more…open with his emotions than you are." Hakuei shrugged, a smile still on her face. In truth she had debated that topic in her head many times over. Why him? The two of them were very different. But at the same time, even when he embarrassed her, sometimes she couldn't help but laugh along with him, or feel flattered that he was flirting with her and no one else. When she thought that last one it made her blush even more.

"Hey Hakuei!" speaking of Sinbad… both of them turned right before Sinbad took his seat next to Hakuei. Her heart beat quickened, but she tried quickly to supress it. If it beat any louder he would have been able to hear. "What are you two eating?"

"Afternoon king Sinbad," Hakuei greeted him, trying to be formal for her brothers sake. "I thought that you had a meeting all day and wouldn't be able to see anyone." he nodded, grabbing her hand and tangling his fingers through hers. Hakuei gulped as her brother turned a slight shade of pink and glanced down at the shrimp that had started to get up and run away for their lives. One tripped so he picked it up and hurried it on its way.

"I did, but they let us all out for lunch. But hey, that means you got my letter! What did you think of the name, did you," he caught the angry glare he was receiving from her. "Or not." Shaking his head in defeat he reached out towards one of the rice balls.

Hakuryuu hurried to save him. "No your majesty, Hakuei made them!" Sinbad's hand froze just inches away from the food. Nervously he pulled his hand back and the two of them glanced at his fiancée. She glared right back at them.

"You too? What is so bad about my cooking? I've been practicing for years, how bad could I be?"

"We have this meal for example," her younger brother suggested. "First the soup growled at Seisyuun. The rice balls look like they have been shaking in fear this whole meal. A few of the shrimp got up and WALKED AWAY. And it looks like there are fish in my tea," he added, glancing down at his food. Right away Sinbad stopped the cup that he was about to take a sip from and gently put it down. Hakuei gave her brother a look.

"I didn't make any tea. I thought you brought the drinks." All three of them glanced down at the drinks on the blanket. Then slowly pushed them away.

"A-anyway," Hakuryuu began nervously, unable to decide which he should be more wary of. Sinbad holding his sister's hand, or the tea that somehow appeared out of nowhere. That had fish. "How are the negotiations doing? Is everything turning out well for you're and our countries?"

Sinbad nodded, neither happy nor sad. "Yes, I suppose so. We agreed to not go to war against each other unless one breaks the treaty, as well as come to the others aid. Kouen agree to abolish the slavery act since our country refuses to be allied with a country agreeing to slavery. But if they do that I'm not allowed to have any control over their trades or transportation." He added that last one with a slight pout. Hakuei giggled and nudged him in the side.

"You can't have everything you greedy king." At her words Hakuryuu blushed again and she tried again. "It sounds reasonable though. Taking away the slavery act is a large part of the Kou empires economy. It will be a nice change in my opinion, but not one that's easily done." Satisfied with her words, she turned to Hakuryuu to see if he had relaxed. Not really, he still tried to look anywhere but at his hand in hers or at the small distance between the two of them.

"Yeah, you're probably right. Besides, I guess I got the best part of the deal," he admitted, winking at her. Hakuryuu started fidgeting uncomfortably, worrying Hakuei all the more.

Trying to pull away without insulting Sinbad she tried to make the conversation more formal. "S-so, is tracking al-thamen going anywhere? Have they figured out where they went?" at least that got Hakuryuu's attention, as he sat up straighter and tried to focus. Sinbad sighed, shaking his head.

"No. not even Judal knows, and he used to work with them. Our best bet is to wait until they show up again." Hakuryuu frowned and leaned back a bit, but Hakuei was happy. Not about the news about al-thamen, but at least her brother was distracted. That is, until Sinbad put his arm around her shoulders.

"Don't worry. We'll catch them eventually sweet cheeks," he said and kissed her again on the cheek. Hakuryuu's eyes widened as big as the plates on they were using to hold the whimpering rice balls. Hakuei went pale, watching her brother in fear. He gulped, and fidgeted even more, until he didn't know what else to do.

"I-I uh, I should go and help Seisyuun." Hakuei gulped and tried to reassure him.

"No wait, it's okay brother you can stay,"

"I'll meet you at dinner Hakuei! Call me if you need any help with packing!" before she could say anything else her brother had disappeared. She groaned and turned back to Sinbad with a dark look. He blinked at her.

"What?"


	6. Kouha, anger

"Hakuei, you're staying."

"No, I'm not."

"Yes you are."

"You know I can't Kouha."

"Yes you can!" Her younger cousin stomped on the ground in anger, causing great alarm from ongoing servants through the main hall. "You can stay in Kou, you don't have to go to Sindria! I won't let you!" Hakuei shook her head as she collected the last few pieces of glass from the vase Kouha had broken a few days ago. It had been her favourite vase.

"Kouha, you know even if I wanted to, I can't. It's the main part of the treaty that a princess marries the king of an allied country. That's how it's always been." Well, not exactly, she thought to herself. It used to be that kou would take over their empire with the marriage, but they decided just to make an alliance with Sindria was better than nothing. "If I didn't go with Sinbad," Kouha stared at her. "I-I mean, king Sinbad, I would have to go and marry someone else someday. At least he's a…nice man…" that was one way of saying she liked him.

Kouha didn't notice. "That's not true! You can stay here and be a general, just like you always have been! Why can't one of my sister's marry him?" _Because Kouen knows I like him which was why he agreed, _Hakuei thought but didn't say out loud. Kouha didn't know how she felt, and she worried about how he would react.

"All of your other sisters are married, except for Kougyoku. And because of Judal she can't marry him,"

"What about Judal?" Oops. He didn't know about her relationship with him either.

"T-that they are such good friends!" Hakuei was a very bad liar, her face turning red and her words fumbling so much she had to focus on the pieces of glass laying around her to stay calm. "He would be furious if he lost his girl- his best friend!" Kouha's glare intensified, and Hakuei wondered if she should stop hiding their relationship and just tell him the truth about his sister. Then again, she also knew just how threatening her cousin was when she was mad. It wasn't good. Change subject, change subject!

"It's not like you're never going to see me again Kouha!" Kouha shook his head angrily, his temper beginning to get the best of him.

"I know that! It's him that bugs me!" he kicked at one of the pieces of glass, smashing it against the wall and breaking it into more pieces that Hakuei would have to pick up. She glared at him and he smiled sheepishly.

"Why does he bug you?" Kouha was still trembling with anger so she decided not to ask him to pick up the glass he had just broken.

"He's a man! He thinks about bad stuff, and drinks a lot, and, um, is a liar and just a bad person!" he waved his arms around in anger as he scrambled to find something wrong with him. It was kind of funny to look at. "I don't want my cousin anywhere near him, not now not ever!" Hakuei raised an eyebrow at him quizzically.

"You're not okay with me even being near him, yet you were okay with Kougyoku going to his country?" Kouha's mouth dropped open.

"She did WHAT?"

"You didn't know? That was years ago, how did you…" she trailed off when she saw the fire glowing in his eyes. "…never mind."

"GAH! See, this guy is a jerk! Why does he want you anyway? I thought he was against marriage! He's probably just doing this to get another dungeon capturer on his side! He probably doesn't even care about you, that big idiot!"

Hakuei's hand froze on the glass she was getting. That had been a thought she had bene considering for a long time. It wasn't like it would be a surprise. He was against marriage, it was mainly for the treaty, and he was known for being a good liar. Was it possible he was lying to her so she was on his side? He had told her once that he would resort to any dirty method to keep his country safe. But she didn't see why he would have to lie to her. It wasn't her choice who she would marry, it never was. She would have married him even if she hated him, if it would keep her country safe from war. And she wouldn't turn on him even if she hated him, since that would hurt his people and she had nothing against them. The two of them had been engaged for over a year thanks to many problems with al-thamen, and it seemed like quite a long time to have been acting. Besides, Hakuei was always on guard. She had always been careful around men, since she didn't want to be deceived into doing anything to hurt her country. Had she made a mistake? Was it possible?

"HAKUEI!"

The scream snapped her out of her thoughts and she turned to Kouha slightly stunned. "What? What's wrong?"

"You weren't listening to me. You almost cut your hand on the glass!" Hakuei looked down to find Kouha had pulled the glass away from her hand to stop it from slicing her skin. Shaking her head she rid herself of her thoughts. Her doubts could wait for a time she wasn't near any dangerous items.

"Sorry Kouha, I was lost in thought. What were you saying?" Surprisingly he wasn't looking at her anymore. He was glaring at something in the distance. She turned to see what it was and almost jumped out of her skin.

Sinbad was walking down the hallway. His walk was confident and relaxed, just like always. But considering the last few meetings he had had with her siblings, she did not want the same thing to happen again. _Please don't see me, please don't see me._ Of course, Hakuei was a very unlucky person. As he walked down the hall he spotted Hakuei picking in the glass. With his charming grin he waved to her and headed in her direction. Kouha scowled while Hakuei began to panic.

"K-Kouha, why don't you go and hang out with Aladdin huh? I can clean up this mess on my own, don't worry." He barely glanced at her before turning back to glare at Sinbad's form, getting closer with every step.

"I can hang out with my friend later." Hakuei struggled to say something. Kouha already wanted to kill Sinbad, and with Sinbad so focused on giving her a nickname that was usually bad, that encounter would just make everything even worse. Much worse.

"Y-you know Aladdin might be leaving soon to Sindria right?" that was enough to get his attention at least.

"What? Really? I thought he wasn't leaving for another month!" oops. That was the truth, Sinbad had told her that earlier. Struggling, she tried to fix her mistake.

"Yes, but, um, he didn't say where he was leaving from. He might go traveling for a while before heading back to Sindria in a month, you never know." Kouha narrowed his eyes in doubt, but he didn't want to risk that his friend would leave without saying goodbye.

"Fine. But don't talk to him!" he hurried off with Hakuei waving him goodbye. Sometimes Kouha just never seemed to hint into the fact that Hakuei didn't listen to his warnings.

Letting out a sigh she went back to cleaning up the glass on the floor. Pretending at innocence she ignored the sound of Sinbad's approaching feet. That is, until he reached her and lifted her off the floor by her waist. "Oof! H-hey!" she struggled not to giggle as he spun her around in a circle before setting her on the ground once again.

"Hakuei, when you ignore me like that its as if your begging me to find a new way to get your attention." his smile was felt on her neck as he kissed her gently, making her face turn red again. Unable to stop herself from smiling, she pulled herself out of his grasp and glanced around the halls.

"Shhh, be careful Sinbad. What if someone heard you? Or saw you?" she hurried around him to make sure there was no one else in the hallways. On the other hand Sinbad laughed and hugged her again, snatching her hand.

"Then let them see. I have nothing to hide." Bringing her hand up to his lips he kissed each of her knuckles and she felt her knees go weak. No matter what happened she would never, ever, EVER admit that so Sinbad though. It would just encourage him to do it more. Instead she tried to keep her composed face and brought a small delicate smile to her face.

"Well maybe you should try. What would Jafar do if he saw you being so informal with a princess in her own country?" Sinbad froze and Hakuei felt the surge of victory surge through her. Finally she had something against him to make them even. She would have to thank Jafar when she next saw him. But her happy mood quickly disappeared when Sinbad shook his fear off and pulled her closer, with his hands on her waist.

"Since you are my betrothed, I'm certain that Jafar could let it go." Hakuei rolled her eyes. Even though she knew she should continue to try and push him away, she found herself putting her arms around the back of his neck and pulling him closer as well.

"Then I guess I can put the blame on you if anyone hears us." Sinbad raised an eyebrow at her new attitude, but quickly replaced it with an even bigger grin. Hakuei decided to stop worrying, if only for a moment. There was no one around, Sinbad certainly didn't want to hide anything, so why should she? She was going to be married to him eventually. They had been together for much longer than that. Why hide now when they hadn't been before?

_Oh yeah, _the more sane part of her brain reminded her_. Cause your family is here. _Annoyed she pushed that part of her mind away and continued to allow herself to just enjoy herself. Sinbad though, for the first time in a few days, was the first one of them to frown. Reaching up he ran his thumb underneath her eye, right above her scar. Self-consciously she tried to turn away so he couldn't see her scar, but Sinbad wasn't paying attention to it.

"You look tired." Oops. Hakuei hadn't had much time to check the mirror that morning. Groaning she rubbed at her eyes, as if it would make the bags go away. Sinbad grabbed her hand to stop her with a concerned look. "What's wrong? Haven't you been getting enough sleep?" She almost laughed.

"Honestly Sinbad, I've always had a hard time sleeping in my country. Too many strangers around, to many people I couldn't trust." Smirking again Sinbad pulled back a little to give her breathing space but still held onto her hands.

"You've always had trust problems Hakuei, but that doesn't explain why you've been getting less sleep now than you did before." her blue eyes met his golden ones, and she knew very well that she wouldn't be able to hide anything from him.

"Nothing to exciting. Just worried about my family, going to a new country blah, blah, blah." Groaning she leaned against him while he laughed, rubbing her back. Enjoying his betrothed finally starting to relax a bit, he buried his face in her hair.

"I hope that you'll be able to relax more once you get to my country." At his words Hakuei had mixed feelings. Would she be happy in the new country? The generals from his country had immediately become good friends of hers. But how much would she miss her country? Would she really…no, relax. She was just too exhausted to think about these things.

"Maybe. I certainly hope I will be able to sleep more. I can't remember the last time I had a good night's sleep." Laughing again, Sinbad kissed the tip of her head. Then, as if to just break her bliss and make her blush again, he said not so softly,

"Once you're mine, you won't be getting much sleep anymore sugar lips." And just like that, Hakuei had the complexion of a tomato. She wasn't sure which she was blushing at, the nickname or the suggestion that came before the nickname. All Sinbad did was laugh at her frozen face. "You really should stop blushing like that. It just encourages me all the more."

"K-Kouha." Sinbad made a face.

"That's not exactly what someone means when they say talk dirty to," then he noticed she wasn't looking at him. Following her gaze he met another. And froze just like her.

Standing a few feet away Kouha stood with his mouth hanging open. Hakuei yelped and jumped away from him, while he remained in his position. Kouha, out of all of her family, was the one that worried him the most. Kougyoku was kind, no threat to him at all. Hakuryuu used to be evil, but he turned to the good side and became his friend once again. Koumei was deceitful, but only for the sake of his country and family. Kouen was a large threat, but after the alliance he had to reason to attack Sindria. Kouha on the other hand was irrational, still a kid, had a djinn, and really didn't like him. For a moment the three just stood there, watching each other. Hakuei watched her younger brother in terror. Sinbad watched Kouha in surprise. Kouha watched Hakuei in shock, and Sinbad in growing anger. He turned from Hakuei, to Sinbad, than to Hakuei again. When he finally managed to form some kind of words, he forwarded them to Sinbad.

"W…what did you…just call my sister?" right away Hakuei sucked in her breath, her panic level rising. _Are you kidding me, _the angry part of her mind screamed. _He was gone! We were supposed to be fine! _Sinbad, to her complete horror, relaxed completely.

"What, is that all you heard? Oh thank goodness, I thought you heard all of that sentence!" Hakuei couldn't help but to groan as Kouha's face shifted to one of horror. _Oh man, _she whimpered in her head. _Why can't I just catch a break?_

Then Kouha put on his Djinn equip.


	7. Hakuei, doubt

Hakuei, doubt

"Sinbad, this has to stop!" Hakuei told him after she had finally managed to convince Kouha not to try and cut him in two and feed him to the fishes. Again.

"Me? It was Kouha who tried to kill me! I was just trying to protect myself!" Hakuei shook her head as she brushed off the rubble from the pillar that Kouha had broken. And the statue. And the wall. And just about everything in his path before she had stopped him.

"I'm not talking about the fighting, I mean the nicknames! My family is all getting the wrong idea because of the timing you have!"

"The wrong idea? What kind of ideas could they get from my nicknames? The nicknames were fine!" Hakuei stared at him. He was joking. He HAD to be.

"Sinbad. Baby doll? Sexy thing? BABY CAKES?" He cringed.

"Okay, so they weren't my best ideas. But what does that have to do with your family?" He acted so innocent Hakuei almost thought he was. Almost.

Holding up her hand she held up a finger with each nickname. "You called me baby cakes in front of Koumei. Now he doesn't think you have enough respect for me. You called me sexy thing in front of Kougyoku and now she's worried you're going to treat me just like you do other women and that I can't handle being in a relationship. The letter you sent that called me baby doll in front of Kouen makes him think you're not serious enough. You called me in sweet cheeks front of my little brother and now he doesn't think he can handle being around us both at once. You called me Sugar lips in front of Kouha and he tried to kill you!" Sinbad rolled his eyes at that last one.

"Kouha's been trying to kill me ever since we became betrothed. And that was over a year ago." Hakuei glared at him and crossed her arms. Maybe Kouen was right. He really wasn't serious enough.

"Come on Hakuei, you don't believe any of it right? You know I respect you as a warrior, woman and my betrothed. Those other women are a part of my past, you mean so much more to me than any of them. And I can be plenty serious, I'm a king I have to be! If I ever make Hakuryuu to uncomfortable you know I would stop! And, like I said, Kouha is always trying to kill me," Sinbad threw his hands up in the air in defeat with that last one. There was nothing he would be able to do about that. Hakuei noticed he didn't say anything about her being able to handle being in a relationship. Well, that wasn't exactly something he could solve, but still.

"But what I think about you isn't the problem, it's what they think of you. Sin, if my family doesn't approve of the marriage then they can stop it if they want."

"What? No they can't."

"Kouen is the emperor Sinbad. It's up to him if this marriage goes though. And if all of his siblings come to him complaining, he might end it." His eyes widened as the realization hit him.

"…but then the treaty would be invalid." Hakuei didn't want to admit that it hurt her a bit that that had been the first thing he picked up on, not that the marriage wouldn't happen. But she quickly swallowed her pride and tried to reassure him.

"They would find something else to make the treaty valid. Or you would marry someone else I suppose. Sinbad, these nicknames are really bothering my family. And you know my family means a lot to me!"

Finally that picked his interest and he was able to act at least a bit more serious. "I know, and I'm not trying to embarrass you or insult them. But this means a lot to me too!" Hakuei was able to calm down a little bit with that. At least she had that.

"But why? Why does it matter so much?" He opened his mouth, but as soon as he did he closed it again, rethinking his words.

"It…it just does." She pouted a bit in anger and looked away from him, frustrated. What reason could he possibly have to want to give her a nickname? It was just a name, and it was threatening any chance the two of them had! Why would he do that? Why would-

Unless that was his plan. A horrible thought occurred to him as she remembered Kouha's words. 'I thought Sinbad was against marriage…He probably doesn't even care about you, that big idiot!' At the time she had tried to convince herself he had been wrong. Of course it was possible she was just fooling herself. Maybe he was doing this all as an excuse to get her away from him. The more she thought about it, the more possible the theory became. What were the chances that he would pick nicknames that horrible right when it was the worst time, in front of the worst people possible? Could he have been faking it? He had lied to her sister Kougyoku just so she could spy on Kouen a bit. Who's to say he wouldn't do the same to her?

"Hakuei? Are you all right?" she glanced back at Sinbad. He looked genuinely concerned. Hakuei wanted to tell him what she was thinking, find out if she was right…but wasn't sure she could stand the answer. _I'm such an idiot, _she thought to herself.

"I'm fine." Sinbad's frown increased and he walked closer to her, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"You don't look fine. What did I say?" Surprising him she pulled herself out of his reach. The shock was written on his face, but Hakuei didn't look at him. She thought she was smarter than that. Than to fall for something like that. Maybe she was overreacting. Maybe Hakuryuu was right when he had always said she had trust issues. Could you blame her? When she was just a little girl her country had killed her elder brothers and father. Her own mother was evil, and only a year or two ago her last brother had tried to take over the Kou empire. Who was she supposed to trust?

"It's nothing. Just…look, I need to go do something, okay?" he raised an eyebrow at her.

"Like what?" she glared at him.

"Just…just something okay?" Sinbad just took a step closer, the concern in his eyes evident. Hakuei wanted to believe it, but that tiny bit of doubt in her heart kept nagging at her.

"You're a very bad liar. Want to try again?" He reached out his hand to stroke her cheek but Hakuei turned away. "Babe, just tell me what's wrong?" She shook her head, not even bothering to comment on how much she disliked that nickname.

"I have to go. I'll see you later." Before he could say anything else Hakuei rushed away, leaving him standing there in his confusion. He watched her go, trying to figure out just what he had said wrong.

**Hey everyone, I haven't said anything in a while. This chapter wasn't as humorous as others, but I thought I should add a touch of seriousness into the story. It's going to be a bit serious for a bit, but there will still be humor I promise. Thank you all for continuing to read and all the reviews. They are very encouraging, thank you very much. **


	8. Sinbad, Confusion

Sinbad, Confusion

"Then she just ran away. Just like that!" Sinbad threw his hands up in exasperation, almost spilling his glass of wine. He usually tried not to drink during the day, but he decided that one glass wasn't going to kill him. If he didn't have too much it helped him analyze things without the messy emotions that came with them. It helped him relax.

Hakuryuu on the other hand was very, very uncomfortable. "S-she does that sometimes. Um…why did you want to talk to me again? And why…on the roof?" Sinbad looked at him like it was obvious.

"You're Hakuei's brother. You should know what's going on, right?" Setting down his now empty glass he glanced over at the ground below them. "As for being on the roof, it might have been the alcohol talking." Hakuryuu could agree with that. But he did wish that the alcohol hadn't told him to sit at the edge of the roof. Couldn't alcohol have more common sense and let them sit in the middle where it was safe?

"Yes well, but I don't know everything about her Sinbad. Honestly, I think you understand her more than anyone else. Isn't that how love is supposed to work?" after a moment Hakuryuu realized what he had just suggested and felt his face flush. "I-I mean, if you love her. I didn't mean to assume things, it's none of my business,"

"Of course I love her Hakuryuu," Sinbad interrupted him. "Would I be marrying her if I didn't?" Hakuryuu nodded, still slightly embarrassed with his blunder. He had known that was the truth all along. Considering how opposed he was to getting married before he met her, he would have been shocked considering how easily he had agreed to marrying her if that wasn't the reason. As soon as he had answered his spirit sunk and he turned back to the ground. "But that doesn't mean I know everything about her. She just refuses to let me in sometimes."

Hakuryuu couldn't help but to laugh at that. "She never was good at that. After what happened to our brothers, Hakuei had a hard time trusting anyone other than family and Seisyun. Maybe she's having doubts?" Sinbad had a look of absolute horror. "A-about you, not the wedding! Hakuei wouldn't back out of that, considering how important it is to her country, and she doesn't want to abandon her people." When the look of horror never left his face Hakuryuu realized what he said didn't help. "Um…what I meant to say was…"

"Having her doubts on me? What about me? Did I do something wrong? Does she not love me?" Hakuryuu almost laughed, and had to use his hand to stop. But when he tried to muffle his laughter Sinbad noticed and got a little angry. "What's so funny?"

"N-nothing, don't worry. I just noticed how easy you say the word love, when Hakuei would have turned red by saying it." Sinbad thought about it for a moment, and gave in and started laughing to. "But Sinbad, why do you need a nickname for her so badly? If that's what she's doubting you about, than maybe she's doubting your intentions about them."

"The nicknames? What could be so bad about my nicknames?" Hakuryuu hesitated to tell him, but decided to since it was his business anyway.

"Well…from what I've heard it's giving them the wrong impression of you. Remember, Hakuei isn't treated to well here as a princess. Not only is she a female trying to become a general which many people don't think she can be, but she's also trying to ignore her role as a kou princess by learning, making friends with people from other countries, things like that. Most of my family were hoping that…well…since you care about her…that you would treat her better. Assume that she was worth more than the other people in our country think she is. When they heard the nicknames they just got…suspicious."

Sinbad turned so he had Hakuryuu's full attention. Even though he was drunk he seemed as serious as he was in a battle. "Yes I do. Hakuei's brilliant, kind, and strong and she knows how to speak her mind. Maybe she can't cook, and she's afraid of heights,"

"My sister is afraid of heights," Hakuryuu interrupted. "I guess that makes sense. She never flies too high in djinn equip, and she said she was standing really high in the dungeon," he trailed off when Sinbad glared at him. "Sorry, go on."

"But," he said with a bit of a slur. "Those are all a part of her. Everything, the bad and the good. I love it when she blushes too much, or how angry she gets when I tease her. She's absolutely worth it, all of it. And I will treat her with respect, and I know she can do great things, and trust me, I know how dangerous it is to underestimate her. She's the only women I've ever really loved, and I'm not going to give up on her. Ever." Sinbad leaned back, proud of himself. Sure, he hadn't said all that he meant to say, but it should be satisfactory. But when he turned back to Hakuryuu he found him blushing and fidgeting uncomfortable. "S…sorry. Did I make you uncomfortable?"

"Er…a little I guess. B-but that's okay, that's good to know." he said as he did all he could to try and forget all that he just heard. "S-so…that still doesn't explain why she has to have a nickname. Is there any reason?" Sinbad leaned back, relaxing a bit more.

"It's…not a requirement. It's just something my dad had told me." Hakuryuu was surprised. Sinbad had never mentioned his dad before. Maybe it was the alcohol letting him open up about this, but it was still a surprise. He didn't know about his father. Hakuei said Sinbad had told her, and the generals probably knew, but none of them told anyone else about him.

"What about your dad?" Sinbad shrugged, taking another sip of his alcohol. Hakuryuu hoped that he wasn't prying…and that that was his last drink.

"Not that much. When I was little mom would call dad things like sailor or honey. And dad would call her things like dear or Sweetheart. I didn't get it so I asked him about it. My dad said, 'It's my own private way of saying that I love her. By giving her a name that is ours, no one else's.' And I just…well, they had the best relationship I've ever seen so…I thought they were a good model." A silence hung between the two of them as Hakuryuu decided what to say. He didn't know what to say that could match his serious tone or the depth of what he just revealed. But he knew he had to say something. So he tried saying what he thought Aladdin would have said.

"You might want to tell Hakuei that story." Sinbad turned his attention back to him.

"Why?"

"For a few reasons," Hakuryuu began. "One, if that's your reason than why are you the only one who gets to have a nickname? Shouldn't both of you? Two, it might help her understand why you are doing this more. Right now she just thinks you're giving her family the wrong impression for no good reason. Three, well…I think it would make my sister really happy." This time it was Sinbad's turn to smile that was what he wanted.

Hakuryuu smiled, happy he had said something right. As he did he heard the sound of approaching footsteps. He looked down and saw a man walking below them.

"Dorji, it's you!" the redheaded men looked up to see the brother of his general sitting on the edge of the roof with the king if Sindria.

….

…the roof?

"Sir Hakuryuu, get down from there!" Dorji waved his arms around, trying to convince his friend to get down. Hakuryuu just gave him a pitiful look thinking, _I wish I could my friend. How I wish I could. _

"Oi, Dorji right? You're from Hakuei's army?" Dorji glanced at him nervously, wondering if he should be worried about him as well. Maybe this was some strange bonding moment from their country, for the brother of his betrothed and him to go and have drinks on the roof. Dorji would never understand anyone but his kouga people.

"You mean kitten? Yes, I'm one of her first commanders, next to Seisyuun." Hakuryuu paled. Nervously, he glanced over at Sinbad, wondering if he had caught onto it.

He had. And Flames had surrounded him.

"…what did you just call her?" Dorji blinked in confusion up at him. He had to cover his eyes to see him with the sun above him.

"Kitten. What, did she never tell you about it?" _Why are you still talking, _Hakuryuu wondered as the fire around Sinbad grew. Maybe Dorji couldn't see it. He didn't know how, Hakruyuu was sweating just being next to him.

Before Dorji could even blink Sinbad was standing right next to him. That was when he noticed the fire. The fire that could freaking burn down a forest! "Why. Do. You. Have. A. Nickname. For. MY. Hakuei?" Hakuryuu doubted his sister would have been too happy about him referring to her as 'his.' She would have thought it was he was referring to her as if she was his property…and punched him in the face…he would have to be careful once they were really married. Dorji finally started to sweat.

"No, the nickname is nothing like that!" Dorji panicked, waving his hands around in innocence when Sinbad's eyes started to darken. "That's a nickname everyone from the Kouga nation has for her. It's just a joke, from something that happened!" Hakuryuu hurried down from the roof after Sinbad to defend him. How did he get down so quickly?

"He-he's telling the truth! Toya calls her that all the time. It makes Hakuei laugh, really!" Sinbad barely gave him a glance and Hakuryuu shivered at his look. It was worse than when Aladdin called him uncle before.

"Why would you call her kitten?" Hakuryuu relaxed just a bit. At least he sounded a bit calmer. And the fire died down so that it would only burn down a few trees instead of all of them.

"It's just a private joke, between all of us," Dorji was able to speak easier than before. "There was this one time when we thought a thief had come into one of her tents, so Miss Hakuei went to check it out. But it turned out it was just a cat. Hakuei pulled it out of the boxes and took care of it. After that the cat started following Hakuei everywhere she went, and licking her scars and wounds. We all started joking around, saying that Hakuei was her new kitten. The name kind of just caught on after that." For a moment Hakuryuu was afraid Sinbad was going to shoot him out of the sky.

But he was able to settle down with a quick word. "Fine." Then he seemed to think about it for a moment. "But that's an interesting thought. Giving her a nickname with a story behind it."

"Yes, I suppose so," Hakuryuu added hurrying over to him. "But what story do you and Hakuei have that you could give a nickname to." Sinbad shrugged, debating it.

"Not sure. There was that one time we went on a mission and we accidentally took all of the fish out of the sea in a contest." Both of them stared at her. "…she thought she could fish better than me. She was wrong." He scrunched his nose at the thought though. "I don't know what I could give her for that name though. Fishy? That's awful." Hakuryuu thought it was better than the nickname he had given her earlier. It made him more comfortable anyway.

"Well, I'm sure you'll find something that will work soon. For now, let's go and find Jafar so that he can tell me how to handle you as a drunkard." Hakuryuu tried to hurry Sinbad along before he decided to kill Dorji again. Silently he mouthed to him, _save yourself! _

"Yeah, sounds like a good idea. Best not to think of a nickname when I'm drunk." But as he walked away he glared back at Dorji. He pointed to his eyes than Dorji's and said,

"But I'm watching you."


	9. Seisyuun, support

Seisyuun, support

Seisyuun stared. He didn't know what to do. Kouen didn't either. He didn't know how to react. Confusion was the only proper emotion that he seemed to be able to process at the moment. Everything just seemed…out of order?

"Lady Hakuei?"

"Hm? Oh, hello cousin Kouen, Seisyuun. How can I help you?" again, all Seisyuun could do was stare. He stared at his best friend. He stared at the floor. He stared at the papers. He stared at the blankets. He stared at the training dummies. Kouen was the first one who was able to say something feasible.

"Hakuei...I know I had suggested before that you should do what makes you happy before you leave…but this wasn't what I meant." At the note she blushed and looked around at the mess that she had made.

And it indeed was a mess. Kouen had led Seisyuun to the guest room when he couldn't find her on his own. She stayed there since Hakuei's things had all been moved onto the ships that were to leave in a day or two. But Hakuei seemed to have overloaded the room with her hobbies. On the floor there were blankets of her design. Against the wall were the remains of her training dummies that Seisyuun couldn't help but feel sympathy for. On the tables and the bed were scrolls from many different cultures with stories, geography, economics and many other things. Even the desk had hints at some of Hakuei's attempts at cooking. Kouen was absolutely dumbfounded. Seisyuun, who had been by her side since childhood, understood the signs.

"Lady Hakuei…what did he do?" Hakuei just stared at her sewing needles in her hands. Kouen raised an eyebrow at him in question, so he explained, "Whenever Hakuei gets very troubled she tries to surround herself with items to help her release her emotions." He pointed at the dummies. "Those are for anger." Next he pointed at the scrolls. "Those are for when she wants to avoid something." After that he gestured to the blankets on the ground. "She makes those when she wants some kind of comfort." Lastly he gestured to the food. "And that's for when she wants to destroy something. Or that's a theory of Hakuryuu and me." Hakuei glared at her best friend, him knowing full well that she only cooked when she was feeling useless and wanted to do something useful.

Kouen clued in quickly. "Ah. So it's Sinbad." Seisyuun nodded while Hakuei's mouth dropped open.

"How do you match all of that with Sinbad?" the two of them looked at her.

"Was I wrong?"

"…no…" Seisyuun gave him the, 'she-may-be-crazy-but-we-care-about-her-so-we-have-to-deal-with-it' look. If that look even existed. Seisyuun, who was used to this kind of behaviour, carefully tiptoed his way around the items and took a seat next to her. Kouen followed his example, but remained standing in order to not crush her pile of scrolls on her other side.

Hakuei sighed. "Look, I'm fine really. I just let my emotions get the best of me and jumped to conclusions. Honestly, this is all a result of a few hours ago, I'm fine now." On the desk, one of her cooked eggs started to hatch. Chirping was heard from the desk, but they all ignored it.

Seisyuun shook his head. "Well, if it was a problem than it might be a problem in the future. Is it something that you only want to talk to Sinbad about?" Hakuei shook her head.

"No. Well, maybe. I don't know." The truth was, she really wasn't sure. She hated telling anyone her problems, even Seisyuun. Everyone expected her to be a general, princess, and sometimes even the elder sister. Her family and friends came to her with their problems, not the other way around. More than anything it made her feel week. It had been easier to open up with Sinbad, but she still was very confused about what to do. Seisyuun and Kouen wouldn't tell anyone, not even Sinbad, if she asked them to. Not to mention the whole topic was just embarrassing to her.

"How about you give us a quick debrief about what's going on, and we decide if it's something we should know about," Kouen suggested. Seisyuun nodded at her encouragingly while she thought about it. It didn't sound bad.

"That sounds fine. It was about those nicknames he's been giving me." Kouen seemed to clue in quickly, while Seisyuun was still confused. He hadn't been there to hear some of Sinbad's attempts.

"He's been giving you nicknames? Like what?" Hakuei groaned.

"No, you really don't need to hear any of them,"

"The one I heard was baby doll." Kouen interrupted, ignoring Hakuei's glare and blush. "Kouha said he called her sugar lips. Kougyoku and Judal said Sexy thing. Koumei said baby cakes if I recall correctly." His words only made her blush all the more.

"…they told you?" Kouen nodded, somehow not at all shaken by the names.

"Yes. Except for Hakuryuu, but I guessed from his disturbed expression and the fact that he avoided everyone for a while that he heard one as well. They all were…worried." Groaning Hakuei buried her face in her hands. She was right. They had gone to Kouen.

"L-look, Kouen, they shouldn't be worried about him. He just wanted to give me a nickname, and he wasn't sure what to say. You can't call it back, it's too important to the treaty." She didn't say why she really didn't want him to pull back the wedding. Because she cared about him. But now she wasn't sure if she was a fool to.

"Is that really what you want to say? Because it's for the treaty?" Hakuei shut her mouth and turned away. She wished she could say it was because she cared about him. But now, she thought she might be a fool to say that. He didn't want to continue with that line of conversation either. "But that's not what they said to me."

"What?" Kouen didn't seem satisfied with his reason, so he tried again.

"No, that was part of the worry. We all are worried about Sinbad, only a year ago he was our enemy. But what my siblings came to me worried about was for you." Hakuei was taken aback. The dish that looked like it had been cookies that were watching the scene from the side were taken back to.

"Me? When they talked to me it sounded like they were worried about Sinbad." Except for Kougyoku, it could have been both.

"Yes. They are worried about you. Koumei doesn't think that you're going to be happy with Sinbad. Kougyoku worries you won't be able to keep up with him. Or, she said something like that. (Hakuei hoped that she didn't give him the full explanation) Hakuryuu didn't say anything, but he worries that can't relax around him. Personally, I worry that you won't be able to understand him. And Kouha…he just hates Sinbad." In other words, he didn't count. Hakuei examined all of his reasons, surprised at all of them. But as she thought about it, she realized that she had given that impression. When Sinbad gave her a nickname in front of Koumei, she had groaned. When he had in front of Kougyoku, she had blushed and tried to avoid the entire conversation. At the nickname that she got from the letter, she just tried to hide it and pretend it didn't happen. When he came over to talk to her and Hakuyruu, she tried to act as formal as she could. And Kouha, she refused to ever really tell him about how he felt about Sinbad.

"If I had to say something, I would say I'm worried you don't trust anyone," Seisyuun interrupted her thoughts and she turned to him. "Admit it. That's one of your biggest problems. You didn't trust your cousins to talk to them about this, which is why they have these ideas. And if I had to guess, that's why you're in here doubting Sinbad about…something." Hakuei sighed. She didn't want to tell him about it. Even if he was her best friend, and he would find out about it anyway. But he was right. She really did have a problem with trusting people. She had to open up eventually.

"…we were fighting about the nicknames. I don't mind him wants to give me a nickname, but I was worried that if he kept doing it my family would get the wrong impression and nullify the marriage, and in turn the treaty." Over the time she had been dwelling on it in her room sewing blankets, she had realized that it wouldn't have mattered. The treaty was too important. "And he wouldn't tell me why he was giving me a nickname, so I thought…it might have been his plan. That he was trying to get out of it without upsetting the treaty. And I just felt stupid, that I would have fallen for him if he was using me like that. I always thought I was smarter than to fall for a trick like that, but…" She trailed off when Seisyuun put his hand on her back. She choked back on her words and tried to stand up straighter, embarrassed that she had admitted that much. Both of them didn't comment on her reveal, in respect for her pride.

Kouen started once again. "You really thought that he was using you? After this long, that would be quite a long time. And risking getting married for that is quite the ordeal. Even when he was using Kougyoku that while ago, he didn't put up the act for that long." Hakuei couldn't help but to laugh at that. She had considered the same thing. "As for how smart you are, you defiantly are too smart to have fallen for someone's flirting. Even though you love him, you still don't fall for his flirting. Sure, you blush more than should be humanly possible, but you still never fall for his tricks." She didn't respond. What was she supposed to say to that? _Well maybe I'm not as smart as you think, _or, _He could have been trying to trick me for longer than we thought, _but she knew there was no use. He was right.

Seisyuun, who had been rubbing her back, tried to speak. "Hakuei, you've never been good at trusting people. Ever since what happened to your brothers… You have a good reason not to trust people. I get it. The country that you thought you could trust ever since you were little betrayed you by killing half your family, then again by being controlled by al-thamen. Remember, you used to tell me that you weren't able to sleep at night because you thought someone would come and kill you." Hakuei bowed her head at the memory. The truth was, she had never stopped. She couldn't remember the last time she went to sleep feeling safe. But she never told him that. He would worry more than now. "But sometimes it's good to trust people. Okay, starting with someone as deceitful as Sinbad may not have been your best start," both Kouen and Hakuei glared at him, "scratch that last part. I mean, you may be wary of trusting Sinbad, but you can. He loves you, even though you're not ready to say that yet. And I know that he would wait forever for you to be ready, and no one can fake loving someone for that long. You feel smarter if you don't trust him, but I can guarantee you will be happier. You may not trust everyone in this country, but he will keep you safe, and that's something I know you want. And despite what you think sometimes, you deserve it."

Hakuei didn't respond. The two of them waited for her to respond, thinking they had already overwhelmed her. The cookies on the side held their breath as well. In the end, she gave only one response.

She hugged Seisyuun, almost tight enough to choke him. He didn't respond right away, but then he quickly hugged her back. "Thanks," she said barely able to be heard by the two of them. "I'm glad that you're coming with me." Seisyuun smiled, hugging her tighter. As he let her go she turned to Kouen.

She would have given him a hug as well, but he quickly held up his arms and backed away. "No, no I'm against hugging. A handshake will be fine for me." the two of them laughed as she shook his hand.

Behind them the cookies had started cheering and dancing, a few of them even crying tears of sugar. The three of them just stared at the living food. "When I heard you were a bad cook Hakuei…I thought that people were exaggerating." Kouen commented. Hakuei huffed at him, but didn't say a word. She had no defense anymore.

Seisyuun just laughed. "Yeah, yet she still tries to cook. At least she makes up for that skill in sewing. And fighting," he pointed to the training dummies. "And reading," he pointed at the scrolls. "So, basically, it's not too bad." Hakuei pouted at him. Everyone seemed to want to point out her flaws recently.

"It's called coping with my emotions. It works doesn't it?" Seisyuun shrugged.

Kouen sighed. "Both you and Sinbad have very strange ways of coping with your emotions. Sinbad likes to drink on the roof while you surround yourself with…this," he noted all of her items around them. Hakuei returned her attention to him, slightly confused.

"He was drinking on the roof?" Kouen nodded.

"Yes, Dorji said he and your brother were talking. He got a little mad at Dorji, but he didn't say why." For a moment she didn't answer. The two of them watched her in silence. Until flames appeared around her.

"Sinbad took my brother to the ROOF? While DRINKING?" For the first time, Kouen, a military strategist, was afraid for his life. His cousin looked absolutely deadly!

"Uh…Yes, I think so." Seisyuun shifted as far away from Hakuei as possible. He did not want to risk catch fire. Hakuei didn't even notice as the flames became bigger.

"Did he have a REASON?" She didn't wait for Kouen to answer. "He had BETTER have had a good reason!" Both of them shivered and looked to the other for help. If they said something, they were in trouble. If they didn't say something, she might have burned the entire room down in her rage.

"You don't need to worry cousin," Kouen hesitantly added. "Dorji said that he came down quickly when Sinbad came down." His words calmed her down a bit, so Seisyuun decided to try.

"Y-yeah, Hakuryuu told me about that! When Sinbad was threatening Dorji he hurried down, without a scratch."

And the flames became so big it looked like they were going to engulf the room.

"He threatened DORJI? One of my head captains and close FRIEND?" both of them jumped back at her rage. Kouen glared at him to say, _why did you do that? She was calming down! _And Seisyuun shot back a look that said, _I'm sorry, please don't let her kill me. _Even Kouen wasn't sure he would be able to do that.

"It was a misunderstanding," Kouen assured her in his normal calming voice. "I'm sure that Sinbad wouldn't have attacked Dorji otherwise!" Seisyuun, who Kouen was starting to think didn't know his best friend as well as he had a few minutes ago, tried to speak again.

"It was, really! Hakuryuu said that he was made at him for calling you something when you're supposed to be his, but it was all a misunderstanding." Before he could continue the flames got even bigger. Hakuei's voice didn't get any louder though, which actually, was scarier than if she had been yelling.

"What. Were. His. Words. Exactly." Both of them gulped. Kouen tried to make Seisyuun be quiet, but he didn't get the message in time.

"Um…I think he called you 'my Hakuei.'" Now he did it.

"MINE? He called me his? That sounds like I'm property, how dare he refer to me like that!" the two of them wanted to run away in fear of the fire that was starting to burn some of the nearby books.

"Seisyuun, why did you say anything?" Kouen whispered at him.

"Sorry sir," he murmured nervously. If they didn't stop her, she was going to burn down the whole room. Seeing how she reacted, he wondered if she and Sinbad were more alike than he thought.

"I-I'm sure that he didn't mean to refer to you as property cousin," he hurried to tell her. "He must have meant, his fiancé. He knows better than that, you know it!" at least, he better. Or else he really wouldn't last long with Hakuei around.

"Yes, yo-" Seisyuun was quickly silenced by the death glare that Kouen sent him. "Never mind."

"Hakuei, you don't have too much longer here in Kou. Do you really want to spend your time being angry at someone instead of enjoying your time here?" for a moment he thought that they were going to be engulfed by the flames. But luckily, the words made the fire die down.

"No…I suppose you are right." Both of them sighed in relief. They were safe. Unfortunately, he wasn't able guarantee Sinbad's safety in the future. _Forgive us Sinbad, _Seisyuun prepared to say at his funeral.

Once the fire had completely vanished, one of the servants knocked on the door. The lady bowed before greeting them. "Lady Hakuei, ma'am, I was told to tell you that the boat to go to Sindria will be leaving tomorrow." With the fire gone, her words made Hakuei feel ice cold. She was leaving soon. Was it too soon?

Her two friends turned back to her. "Hakuei…do you wish to talk to Sinbad before you leave?" she looked at Seisyuun, her best friend. He smiled at her encouragingly, telling here whatever she wanted to do was fine.

"If you aren't ready to get on the boat you don't have to," Kouen advised her. "And…if you aren't ready to marry Sinbad, You don't have to." Hakuei smiled, knowing that he was trying to cheer her up. But she also knew he was lying. Despite what her cousin had said, she knew that she wouldn't be able to get out of the marriage, no matter her personal feelings. She was going on that boat whether she wanted it or not. It was for the sake of her country, the country her brothers had left her. Whether she got along with Sinbad when she was on that boat…she wasn't sure.

She was going to marry him. But she wasn't sure if she was going to love him.


	10. Last Nickname

Last Nickname

"NOOOOOOOOOO!"

"Kouha, you're yelling too loud."

"WHYYYYYYYYYYY?"

"Please calm down brother, everyone will hear you."

"IIIIIIIIIIIII DDDOOOOONNNNNNNNN'TTTTTTTT CCCCCCAAAAAARRRRRREEEEEEEEE!"

Kouen sighed as his brother tried to get his even younger brother to let go of his cousin's suitcase. Poor Hakuei who had been trying to bring her bag over to the ship had been tackled by Kouha before she reached it. Koumei and Hakuryuu hurried over to the two of them fighting over her bag and did their best to try and take it back. Kouen and Kougyoku came over just to watch the show. A few of the generals were also watching, Sharkkon, Jafar, Pisti and Yamu. The others were either not there, or doing their best to ignore the situation. "Kouha, you're going to break your sister's bag! Just let go!"

"NO! No, no, no, no! She can't leave, it's not too late! One-saan, please don't go!" Hakuei sighed. They already had that conversation.

"Kouha, I'm leaving now. And it's not forever, I get to see you again. Sinbad even said you can come visit in a few months if you want." After who knew how many attacks, Sinbad had finally agreed to let Kouha come to their country. Not for very long though, or else Sindria would lose their king.

"But why? I thought that you weren't ready! Can't you wait a little bit at least? Please?" at his words a few of them looked at each other. They were probably thinking the same thing as he was. Hakuei didn't know what to say, until Hakuryuu was able to snatch the bag back from him. "Hey!"

"You're going to break whatever my sister has in here." After checking to make sure everything was in one piece he handed it back to her. "I think everything's alright. Some of your papers look like they are out of order though." With a shrug Hakuei took the bag back. She could organize them later.

"That's a small price to pay for the whole bag I suppose." Now that the fight was over, the four generals in the background started getting bored. They walked off except for Jafar who headed over to Lady Hakuei.

"I think we are heading to Sindria now. Do you have everything?" Hakuei nodded.

"Yes, I think so. If you don't mind, I'd like to say goodbye to my family." Jafar nodded as well and hurried over to the boat to give the family their privacy. Ignoring a whining Kouha she turned back to all her siblings. Clearing her throat she prepared to give a big goodbye speech and tell them she was going to be alright. "Well, I guess this is goodbye. For a while at least."

"NOOOOO! DON'T GOOO!"

"I'm going to miss you all,"

"ONE-SAAAANN!"

"And-Kouha, no one can hear me with you yelling like that! Please settle down!" Kouha decided to quiet down, at least so that he could hear what she was trying to say. "Thank you. Anyway, I'm going to miss you all,"

"Oh we'll miss you to Hakuei-san!" interrupted again, Kougyoku ran over and hugged Hakuei so tight she thought she wouldn't live long enough to get to the boat. "Don't worry, I promise to write to you whenever I can!"

"T-thanks," she squeezed out. "A-anyway, if you need anything,"

"We can send for you. Don't worry about us Hakuei, we'll be fine," Koumei told her gently, though a little out of breath after the fight he had with his little brother.

"I know, but just in case. The kouga people will be loyal to you,"

"But they will also be loyal to Sindria now, we understand. Half are staying here while the other half are going with you for the sake of the treaty," Kouen informed her, even though she already knew that.

"That's great, thank you. And make sure,"

"They get to keep their culture and rights and they won't have to kill anyone just like you promised them," Hakuryuu said. "We have gone over this many times Hakuei, they will be alright."

That was when she decided to give up on her emotional speech.

"I'm going to miss all of you," she gave in, hugging Kougyoku back. Kouha ran over and hugged her from behind, nearly chocking the life out of her. "E-even you Kouha."

"Well of course you're going to miss me! I'm your favourite cousin!" she didn't bother to try and correct him. Instead she just hugged him back. Koumei watched the scene with a worried expression. As she moved on to give her goodbyes to her brother, he moved over to his brother.

"Kouen…are we sure we want to do this? Marry Hakuei off to Sinbad?" Kouen turned to him and raised an eyebrow.

"It was your idea wasn't it? Besides, our country wouldn't allow the treaty without a marriage, you know that." He shook his head, still debating.

"But now I'm not too sure about this. We're giving away a dungeon capturer and one of our most powerful generals. Not to mention the kouga tribe with her and one of the closest ones to the magi Aladdin." …and he was saying this now? Kouen sighed, knowing that it wouldn't matter. He already knew the risks of Hakuei going to Sindria. But they were equal to the benefits that they would get, a treaty with one of the most powerful countries in the known world. An excuse to finally get rid of slavery in his country, which he hated. Someone to make sure that Sindria never outstepped their boundaries and didn't attack their country. Not to mention he was sending his cousin somewhere he knew that she would be safe and respected, something she didn't necessarily have in the Kou Empire. He hoped he would be able to do the same for Kougyoku, but for now, one was better than none.

"…And what is it that you really want to say?" Koumei tried to deny it, but was pushed down by Kouen's glare. He gave in and admitted it.

"Fine. I'm worried about our cousin, alright? She might not be ready to move, and with Sinbad no less. I know that she…gets along with him, but for how much longer? Will she," Kouen quickly was able to silence his brother's worries.

"We both know Hakuei better than to think that this could be a temporary thing. As for if she's ready…I guess we just have to trust her don't we." His brother could find no comeback to his words, so he pulled back to try and take his words to heart.

"Hey, Hakuei!" the group turned to see Sinbad walking over to them. He waved, and Kouen waved back. At the sight of him Hakuei's eyes widened and her cheeks turned pink.

"Oh, king Sinbad. Hello," she greeted him, unable to look him in the eye. The two of them hadn't discussed what had happened only a day ago. She was too busy talking trying to distract herself, then talking to Kouen and Seisyuun. When they were packing the boat Sinbad hadn't mentioned it, and Hakuei was not inclined to bring up her embarrassing trust problems. Even if her best friend recommended it, it was only a recommendation.

"King Sinbad," Kouen greeted him in his normal monotone voice. "Are you going to be departing soon?" Sinbad nodded, walking over to Hakuei's side.

"As soon as we get everything on board." He turned to Hakuei and frowned. "Hey, where's the bag you were carrying?" Everyone pointed at Kouha who had taken the bag back in the commotion. "Oh."

"YOU STUPID KING! LET MY SISTER STAY OR I SWEAR I'LL GUT YOU LIKE A FISH AND THROW YOU IN A VOLCANO." Koumei did his best to shush him but to no avail. Sinbad barely shivered at his threat, used to him acting like that by now.

"I take it he's still not very fond of me," he whispered in Hakuei's ear. She shook her head, watching her bag worried that it really wouldn't make it to the boat. She left her favourite pair of sowing needles in it. Looking back he saw Jafar and Masrur waving at him. It was time to go.

"It looks like it is time for us to depart."

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

"Kouha, stop it!" Hakuei scolded her younger brother. Sinbad and Kouha had a glaring contest while Hakuryuu snatched the bag back and gave it to his sister. No matter what Hakuei said, he knew he was going to regret allowing Kouha to come visit his country.

"It looks like it is," Kouen agreed, and he turned his attention to his sister. He held out his hand, since he didn't want to give a hug goodbye. Even now, he was against the hugging. Hakuei smiled and shook his hand firmly, and he told her, "Take care of yourself." Koumei also walked forward. He was about to simply offer her his hand, but thought against it and followed his younger sibling's examples and gave her a hug. Neither of them said anything, but they hugged each other for longer than either of them expected.

Koumei turned to Sinbad, not as relaxed as he was with his cousin. "You'll take care of her, right?" Sinbad didn't flinch, his smile permanently plastered on his face. Hakuei on the other hand started to panic.

"D-don't worry Koumei, I'll be fine! You know I can take care of myself," But Sinbad interrupted her before she could continue.

"Yes she can," he reached over and twined his fingers through hers, pulling her next to him. "But I'll make sure that love here is alright. Don't worry about a thing." Though she blushed at Sinbad holding her hand in front of her family, she hurried to use his words to her advantage.

"See? I'm going to be fine, please don't worry," she stopped. _That wasn't right_, she thought. He said something different. It was hard to notice since she was distracted by him taking her hand, but she did. "Wait…Sinbad?" Kouen and Koumei noticed how informally she addressed him, but decided it was a good thing and didn't comment.

"Yes?"

"Wh…what did you just call me?" at her question he brightened.

"I called you love. It's your new nickname," he stated, with no indecision in his voice. Nothing she could say would change his mind. But just in case, he decided to ask, "Don't you like it?"

"I…" she thought about it. Love. As a nickname. She had heard others call people love. Olba called Toto love a few times. The nickname was…for the first time, it was fine. Heck. Compared to the other ones he had considered it was the best thing that she had ever heard. But still. "Why that nickname?"

"Cause I love you."

"….."

"Cousin Hakuei, your face is turning red."

"Kouen, sh!" Even Kouen couldn't help but to laugh a little at his cousin's embarrassment.

"AWW!" Kougyoku cooed at the scene. "That's so cute!" as the only other girl in the group she felt that it was her duty to point that little detail out. All it did was make Hakuei even more embarrassed.

"K-Kougyoku!"

"Oh come on Hakuei! Even you have to admit that's so romantic!" _No I don't, _she tried to convince herself. But she was right, even she had to agree. All the while Hakuryuu was smiling to himself, remembering the talk he had with Sinbad earlier. He remembered when he had said that Hakuei would start blushing if he even mentioned love. _I knew it, _he thought smugly to himself, the cocky smile on his face confusing the people around him.

"I…what made you choose that nickname Sinbad?" she hurried to ask, hoping it would distract Kougyoku enough to make her drop the subject. Sinbad turned to her quickly, excited to explain his reasoning. It had taken him a long time to figure out, when it should have been so simple.

"It was when I was talking to Dorji." Oh. Right. She was still mad at him about that.

"Love?" Sinbad hesitated when a dark gloom surrounded her. The rest of her family took a cautious step back, and Sinbad tried but forgot that he was still holding her hand.

"Go on," she growled at him, and gulped silently. Turning to her family for help Hakuryuu and Kouen urged him to keep talking. Before she destroyed something. Or him.

"Uh…and he was saying that the Kouga tribe got a nickname for you out of a story. So I thought I would try that." Her anger didn't die down so he kept talking, trying to appease her. "At first I didn't know what to say. Most of our stories I couldn't think of many nicknames. I thought of bookworm for when we spent 8 hours doing nothing but talking about stories. Or fishy for when we took all the fish out of that sea a while ago,"

"You did WHAT?" Kouen glowered. "Is this something I should know about?" Sinbad waved him off.

"But fishy is bad. I tried sleeping beauty for when you slept for three days straight, but that was too long. I almost called you pinky for when you accidentally broke all of Kougyoku's pink makeup in her room."

"You told me that was Judal! I didn't talk to him for a week after that!" great. Now Kougyoku and Kouen were mad at them to.

"ANYWAY," Sinbad brought them back to the topic at hand. "None of those nicknames sounded good. So I settled on that love."

"Why?" Koumei asked, confused at how those nicknames and stories had somehow brought him back to that one. Hakuei glared at him for interrupting but Sinbad answered his question.

"Because it's the one with the longest and the best story to it."

"And that is?" Kouha asked impatiently, wondering why her cousin and siblings hadn't tried to kill him yet. He was waiting to help, his djinn equip at the ready. Unlike the others, he didn't need a reason. It was taking all his strength not to try and kill him right now.

"Because like I said, I love her. And she's the first girl I've ever loved, and most likely the last. It's a story that started since I first met her, and it's still going. I thought it was a perfect name, right love?" luckily for him, the flames had died down. Now she was standing there staring at Sinbad, at a complete loss for what to say. Sinbad seemed to understand, so he gave her a quick kiss on the scar on her chin to get her attention. "Right love?"

"R-right," she muttered, to surprised to be embarrassed that he just kissed her in front of her family. Sinbad laughed and tickled her chin a bit.

"Not to mention that your cheeks get a little pink every time I call you that love," Sinbad teased, making her blush even more.

"S-Sinbad, that tickles! And that's not funny, you know I hate to blush!" All that did was make him laugh and try to tickle her more. She was so focused on trying to get Sinbad to stop she didn't pay attention to her families reactions behind her. Even Kougyoku adoring the scene in front of them didn't get her attention. Hakuryuu was feeling slightly awkward, but he swallowed his pride and tried to feel happy for his sister. Kouen turned to Koumei and gave him a look that said, _does that make you feel better? _Koumei smiled back at him, pleased that she was going to be alright. They all were able to agree that Hakuei was going to be fine.

Kouha still didn't like him though.

"Wha-Kouha, come back here with my bag!"

"NEVERRRRRRRR!"

**The end! Thank you all for reading and leaving the awesome reviews! They really helped encourage me, and I can't thank you all enough! I hope you all enjoyed it, thank you again! oh, and happy halloween**


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